The knife is for his grandfather who served as a Navy Corpsman (medic) and was attached to a Marine unit in WWII in the Pacific (as I recall). The knife is a present for his grandfather’s 94th birthday.
It was my privilege to customize this knife for one of the few remaining members of the Greatest Generation who gave so much for our country.
Dan started by saying his grandfather had always wanted a Barlow that said Barlow on the bolsters. I happened to have a Camillus Barlow that was the perfect platform for this project. He thought it should have red smooth bone handles and he wanted the blade etched to say “Happy 94th, with all our love.” He wanted something engraved on the handles, so I suggested I engrave “DOC”, which is what all Marines call Navy Corpsman. The Navy Corpsmen accompanies Marines on the front lines of battles to render immediate emergency medical services to wounded Marines. Through the years they have saved countless lives of wounded Marines, and many Corpsmen have given their own lives to save their Marines, often shielding wounded Marines in the thick of battle with their own bodies. Corpsman are the heroes of Marines! There are really no words to describe how deeply Marines care for Corpsmen.
I had a stencil made to deeply etch the blade with “Happy 94th, with all our love” on the mark side and on the pile side I etched it with my name as customizer. When etching carbon steel it is necessary to do a deep etch as opposed to a surface etch. A surface etch will likely become obscured as the blade develops patina.
Semper Fi,
Dale
